Do your part to help conserve water

Tuesday, June 2, 2015 — Despite the fact the city of Susanville’s two main sources of potable water — Cady and Bagwell springs — continue to produce far more water than city residents consume, the state of California has ordered municipal water suppliers across the state — including the city of Susanville — to reduce water usage by their customers in response to more than three years of drought across the state. Appeals by city staff for reason and fair consideration from state officials have fallen upon deaf ears — as is often the case with the state’s one-size-fits-all approach to many situations that just don’t make much sense here in our little corner of Northeastern California. So it is what it is.

Stepping into retirement: Let the golden years begin

Tuesday, June 2, 2015 — There comes a time in life when the pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow at last yields the reward of retirement and, for me, that time is now. As of Thursday, May 28, I will have worked my final five hours as a staff writer for Feather Publishing and, more specifically, the Chester Progressive. Many have asked if my farewell will be bittersweet and I would have to say yes, for a multitude of reasons. My relationship with the Lake Almanor Basin will change. No longer will I be here, there and everywhere in a professional capacity chasing the scanner, attending meetings and covering events. While I will remain in the community for the foreseeable future my role will be that of neighbor and friend.

Susanville resident proves it’s never too late to follow your dreams

Tuesday, May 26, 2015 — Congratulations to Susanville resident Bill Merkle, 82, on his graduation May 16 from Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Merkle, the former warden at High Desert State Prison, earned a degree in humanities 36 years after he left his studies when the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation transferred him from San Quentin State Prison to High Desert State Prison — at a time when he was just six units shy of earning an associate’s degree in criminal justice.

It’s not always easy being on the sidelines

Tuesday, May 26, 2015 — It’s hard to sit there and be quiet. It’s difficult to know something and not be able to share it. It’s frustrating to want to weigh in, but be forced to remain silent. It’s difficult to always be on the sidelines and not get in and play the game.

Happy belated birthday to a quirky, cool role model

It seems fitting that Cinco de Mayo is the birthday of one of my more festive and feisty role models: Nellie Bly. She would’ve been 151 years old this month, and I want to wish her a happy belated. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane in 1864, Nellie Bly was her pen name. She was many things, but is probably best known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days, in emulation of Jules Verne’s fictional character Phileas Fogg. More important to me, she was a reporter’s reporter. She launched a new kind of investigative journalism after faking insanity to study a women’s mental institution from within. My kinda’ gal.

I often try to relate some of her experiences to my own — because she was just so darn quirky and cool. I admit, I want to be like Bly.